Chargers want more explosiveness on offense, and Quentin Johnston brings just that (2024)

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LOS ANGELES — On Jan. 18, Chargers coach Brandon Staley held his end-of-season news conference at the team facility and discussed the organization’s decision to fire offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.

Tucked into his explanation was one phrase that would foreshadow how the Chargers approached the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft three months later: “Creating more explosions.”

Despite having one of the most gifted throwers in the league in quarterback Justin Herbert, the Chargers ranked 24th in explosive pass rate in 2022 — meaning the rate of completions that gained more than 15 yards. Some of that was injuries across the offense, including to Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Some of that was Lombardi’s scheme and play-calling, which led to the Chargers replacing him with Kellen Moore. But some of that, too, was the pass-catching personnel.

And so with the 21st overall pick Thursday night, the Chargers drafted TCU receiver Quentin Johnston, a player they believe can do exactly what Staley requested back in January: create explosions.

“He’s a weapon to score the ball any time he touches it,” Staley said.

Johnston does not have eye-popping speed testing numbers. He ran a 4.51 40-yard dash at his pro day earlier this spring. But what he might lack in straight-line speed he makes up for with other elite explosive attributes in his athletic profile. At 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, Johnston’s vertical jump was over 40 inches. His broad jump was over 11 feet, which ranked in the 97th percentile among wide receivers. And, most importantly, his tape is littered with explosive catch-and-run receptions, showing the sudden foot quickness and shiftiness necessary to break away from defenders on short routes such as slants, shallow crossers and curls.

Staley pointed to a specific play from TCU’s semifinal win over Michigan. Johnston ran a crosser over the middle and actually caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage. He then beat Michigan defensive back D.J. Turner to the corner, juking the defender with a subtle stutter step. He took the negative-air-yards throw 76 yards for a touchdown down the right sideline. Turner ran the fastest 40 time of any player at the combine.

“You’re seeing that all over the movie,” Staley said.

“He’s explosive, he’s fast and he’s strong,” added general manager Tom Telesco. “We are trying to add some more explosive plays to our offense. It’s never going to be just one thing you do. We brought Kellen Moore in. We think Kellen’s offense is going to bring some more explosives with him. And then adding this receiver in the draft who had tons of explosive plays in college, both on long balls and on short passes that he took the distance. I think he can add there.”

Johnston said he thrives on curls, slants, in-breakers and post routes. He ranked second in FBS last season in yards-after-catch per reception at 8.9. For comparison, Chargers receivers averaged 4.19 yards-after-catch per reception in 2022, which ranked 16th in the NFL. Herbert completed 271 passes that traveled 10 or fewer air yards last season. Only 11 went for 20 or more yards. Of those, only five came from Chargers receivers.

“He’s very sudden,” Staley said of Johnston, who had 60 catches for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns last season at TCU. “I think he surprises people because he is a bigger guy and they’re thinking, ‘Hey, maybe I have a chance at this.’ But then he moves like a much smaller player with the ball in his hands. He’s pulling away from guys.”

Initially, Johnston’s biggest impact will come as an explosive YAC threat. But with his vertical leap, size and spatial awareness running routes on the outside, Johnston can also be an impact downfield option. AsThe Athletic’s Dane Brugler writes in his draft guide, Johnston “hits a burst at the top of routes to create a stride or two of separation, making him a tough cover on posts.”

“He can really get behind people,” Telesco said.

Johnston comes from a military family, and both his parents — Sherry and Carl — are Army veterans.

“When you meet him, his work ethic just really stands out,” Telesco said. “You can tell he was raised the right way.”

Added Staley: “There’s a focus, there’s a maturity, there’s a pride, I think, in what he did for TCU, there’s a humility for being such a special player.”

Johnston will need to work on his refinement as a route-runner. Telesco called it a “savviness” in how he sets up defensive backs at the NFL level. He also had eight drops last season, and Brugler writes in his scouting report on Johnston that “focus drops are all over his tape.”

The route-running should come in time, especially working under Allen, one of the game’s craftiest technicians.

The drops are a bit more concerning, as that tends to be a more difficult weakness to correct once a college receiver makes the jump to the next level.

“We felt like in assessing him catching the football there were a lot of catches outside the (numbers) with guys contested all over him that not very people could make,” Staley said. “And so there were a couple drops on the in breaks and stuff like that, but it wasn’t a concern for us. There are no perfect players.”

The Chargers had options at pick No. 21 with the way the board fell. They could have taken a tight end in Dalton Kincaid (who went 25th to the Bills) or Michael Mayer (who is still available). They could have taken a receiver with better speed testing numbers, like Zay Flowers (who went 22nd to the Ravens) or Jordan Addison (who went 23rd to the Vikings.) Edge rusher Nolan Smith (who went 30th to the Eagles) was also still on the board. With so many quality players available at positions of need, the Chargers could have traded down to pick up additional draft capital. Telesco said he was on the phone with multiple teams about potential trades down, but those did not materialize.

In the end, the Chargers went with a player in Johnston who unquestionably brings a skillset they did not have on their roster. They went with a weapon for Herbert, which is always going to be a smart team-building strategy. And they hope that weapon will generate the explosions they have been lacking.

“He really adds a dimension that I think can make us really exciting on offense,” Staley said.

(Top photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)